If you are a girl in Kanpur, you can’t wear jeans to college. You can’t even carry a mobile phone. Joining ranks with a number of
colleges that have dress code for their students, Dayanand Girl’s College, affiliated to Kanpur University, began moral policing by restricting its students from wearing western outfits on the campus. A notice to this effect was issued before the start of the academic session.

Other such colleges are Juhari Devi Degree College, S N Sen College and Acharya Narendra Dev College already have dress code in some form or the other.

The move, said principal Meeta Jamal, was taken to check eve-teasing and ensuring discipline. ‘‘Western dresses, including body-hugging tops and tight-fitting jeans, don’t indicate a disciplined atmosphere and attract comments from eve-teasers. We can’t overlook the safety of students. A dress code would check eve-teasing to some extent and also ensure that girls don’t waste their time selecting what clothes to wear,’’ Jamal said.

But an angry student said, ‘‘The decision taken by the college authorities is ludicrous. If they want to check eve-teasing, they must approach the police and not punish the girls.’’ Another student said, ‘‘I can understand a ban short skirts and tank tops, but jeans?’’